Beet harvester



G. W. WELTON, SR.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FIIEIJ Nov. 5, 1920.

G. W. WELTON, SII.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 5, 1920.

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.A

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@li abtoziywg' G. W. WELTON, SIR.

BEET HARVESTER. APPLxcATloN FILED Nov. 5. 1920.

' Patented` Jan. -17, 1922.

s sHETs-SHEET 3.

UNITED ysnrl'l-:s

ics.

Gnomi: w. w-EL'roN, sm, or narnenroar, mm1,

' 4 am Hummm' 9 To allV whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WELTON,

Sr., a citizen ofthe United States, residing f at. Bridgeport, in the county of Morrill,J State of Nebraska, have in-vented a new andI useful Beet Harvester; clare the following to and I dohereby debe a full, clear, and exact descriptionl of the invention, such as will enable` others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

x kThe invention relates to beet harvesters and' has for its object to provide a machine,

which as the same is moved forwardly pulls the beets after the ground has been loosened, 'then conveys the beetsv upwardly and rearf wardly, during which action they are topped, the tops dischargedl to one side oof the machine and the beets then conveyedto cleaning brushes, which brushes clean and further conveyl the beets rearwardly and, deposit them preferably in a transversely disposedv conveyor for delivering-g the cleaned beets ,to a conveyance at the side of the beet hfarvester. Y

A further object is to provide a beet harvester comprising inclined conveyors carried by a pivoted frame, said frame .having also carried thereby spaced uprootirgl cones acljacent plows also carried by the pivoted frame. The rear end of the is pivoted on a drive shaft rotatably mounted in bearings carried by the main frame, said shaft being provided with gearing meshing withgears carried by the re`ar end`of the cone. shafts and an engi/ne for rotating the main shaft for rotating said cones. Also to provide lever means forraising or lowering the forward end of the pivoted frame and consequently vraising or lowvering the cone shaped uprooting members. and the plows. y

\A further object isv Vto provide adjacent the upper ends of the endless conveyors topping members, which topping members and conveyors are driven through connections with` the axle of the supporting Wheel of the harvester. J

A further object lis to form the endless conveyor belts from linked members, to the outerfaces of which 'are attached tubular members formed from rubber orother resilient material, said tubular' members forming means for grasping and 'holding the tops of the beets as said beets are wardly between the conveyors With th above and' other objects in view pivoted frame spec-mamme: Letter; Patent. Patented Jan, 17, 1922 Applieationv-iledlovember 5, 1820., Serial No. 421,903Q

the invention resides in the combination andI arrangement -of parts as hereinafter set Orth, shown in the drawui'gs, described and clalmed, it' 4being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made `within the scope of what 1s claimedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side 'elevation of the harchain," parts brokenI away to showt-he link structure. v I,

Figure 5'b is an end view ofv one' of the link A f L Figure 6 is a rear view of one of the cones.v

Figure 7 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the cones.

Referring tothe (drawings, the numeral 1 designates the main frame of a harvester` 4which, frame is supported `onJthe wheels 2 and 3. Wheels M2 areV securedV to axles 4 which are rotated as the vehicle moves for-` wardly during a harvesting operation Secured to the shafts 4 are sprockets 5 and around Said sprockets and around sprockets 6, sprocketchains 7 pass. Sprockets 6 are carried by the ends of a transversely disposed shaft 8, which shaft 8 will be rotated round. Shaft 8 Lis rotatably mounted in earings 9` on brackets 10 which rise upwardly from the framefl. Secured to the shaft 9 substantially'centrally thereof are spaced'bevelled gears 11, which ears mesh with bevel gears 12 carried by s afts rotatably mounted in conveyor frames 13, which conveyor frames at thelr fear en are pro- Vvided with spockets 14 which operate lthe conveyor chalns 15 vin the directlon of' the bearings of the. conveyor frames 13 are vester, the axle being shown in section ,with to better show the struc'- and showing a front face i ,as the wheels move forwardly over the arrows a, Figure 2. Rotatably mounted in shafts 16 and around-sprockets 17 on said f shafts and sprockets 18, onY shafts carriedV by the'sprockets 14 sprocket chains 19 pass. It will be seen that as the shaft rotates the chains 19 will cause the shafts 16 to also. rotate, thereby 'rotating topping dlscs 20 carried by the lower, ends of the shaft 16. Each conveyor frame 13 has extending downwardly from the rearl end thereof arms .21 which support the conveyor frame attheir rear ends, the lower ends of said arms 21 .being pivotally mounted as at 22 on a transversely disposed drive shaft 23. Conveyor frames 13 and consequently the endless conveyor chains 15 extend'down'wardly and forwardly and terminate at a polnt substantially above digging elements hereinafter set forth and described.

Shaft 23 extends transversely of the machine and is rotatably mounted in bearings carried by the frame 1; said shaft is rotated `by an lengine 24 mounted on the-frame 1, said engine being provided for driving mech,l anism hereinafter described so that not all of the power necessary for operating the harvester as a whole will be obtained from draft animals through the ground engaging wheels 2. Shaft 23 has secured thereto bevel gears 25 which bevel gears mesh with bevel gears 26 carried by the rear ends of downwardly and forwardly extending shafts 27. The rear ends of the shafts 27 are rotatably mounted in bearings of a cross member 28, which cross member connects forwardly and downwardly extending pivoted plow beams 29 together, the rear ends of said plow beams being pivotally connected on the 'shaft 23 and the forward ends of said plow beams having secured thereto in any suitable manner plows 30 which are spaced apart and are adapted to break the ground on each side of the beet as the machine moves forwardlv so that corrugated cones '31 which are located to the rear of the plows 30 will engage the body of the beetand be' carried by the forward v ends of 'the shafts 27. Cones 31 are rotated upwardly andy outwardly so that the beet will be lifted and uprooted and moved upwardlv with its top between the conveyors and will be moved rearwardly, ,until the conveyor 35, which conveyor extends trans- 'versely in relation to the machine and may be extended to' a point where it, can be disposed over a wagon which may move parallel with the harvesting machine. If so desired conveyor 35 may"7 be eliminated and the beets gathered .in a receptacle carried by the rear end -of the framel. The forward ends lof the rollers 33 are provided with gears 36 which mesh with each other, one of said rollers being provided with a bevel gear 37' nvhich meshes with the bevel gear 25 carried by `the shaft 23. It will be seen that not? only the shafts 27 which carry the corru gated cones 31 aren operated from the shaft 23, but also the cleaning, rollers 33. After the beet hasbeen severed from the top, said top continues upwardly between Athe conveyors and is deposited kin a transversely disposed chute 39, which chute forms means for depositino the tops of the beet on the ground at the sid-e of the machine, or if so desired into a receptacle carried by the side of the frame or into a conveyance also moving parallel with the machine.

The forward ends of the shafts 27. are rotatably mounted in bearings 40 of the arms 41 of a Uqshaped brace 42, said U'-shaped brace extending- -upwardly between the side rails of the frame 1 and being guided therebetween in its upward and downward movement and arching the pivotal plow beam 29 and the lower ends of the conveyors which move the beets .upwardly and rearwardly. The arms 41 of the U-shaped brace 42 have secured thereto as at 43, `the pivoted plow beams 29. The lower ends of the conveyor.

frames 13 have connected thereto braces 44, which braces are also connected to pivoted plow` beams 29 and form means for rigidly supporting the conveyors. i Pivotally secured as at 45 to the forward end of the frame 1 are rearwardly and outwardly extending arms 46, said arms extending downwardly to the outer sides of the Y.

plow beams 29 and havingla slot and pin connection 47 therewith. Rockably mounted in bearings of the frame, at a point substantially over the plows 30 is a transversely disposed rock shaft 48, said shaft being pro- /ided with forwardly extending arms 49, to which arms are pivotally connected links 50, which links have their lower ends piv-4 otally connected as at 51 to the rearwardly extending members'l46.- lAlso carried by the shaft 48 is a lever 52, by means of which lever the members 46 may be forced upwardly, thereby causing the conveyors, the cone carrying shafts and cones, and the pivoted plow beams 29 to be pivoted upwardly or downwardly-on the shaft 23 as a pivotal point. During this action the gears which operate the endlessconveyor chains will be moved out of mesh with the bevel gears 11; therefore it will be seen that whenfthe harvester is not bemg used for harvesting purposes,

for instance when the same is being movedV vfrom place to place the conveyor chains andA the topping members 2O will not be operated,

thereby reducing the load on the animals to a mimmum. l ,k

The wheels 3 are carried by forwardly extending pivoted brackets 53 in the outer ends of which wheel carrying bracketsz'54 are pivoted, said brackets being moved outwardly to either side by means of the pivoted lever,

55 which. is pivoted to a transversely movable link 56; however, it is to be understood that any kind of steering mechanism may be used in connection with the harvester. Each conveyor chain l5 comprises a series of links 15a, said links on one of their sides being provided with plates 15b, which plates have longitudinally disposed segmentally shaped channels 15C, and arching said channels are segmentally shaped resilient members l5", preferably made from rubber tubing. By providing resilient members 15d it will be seen that the beet tops will be securely held between the ladjacent conveyor `chains l5 of the conveyors thereby preventing the beets from slipping downwardly as they are .moved rearwardly and upwardly and into engagement with the topping members 20.

`F rom the above it will be seen that a beet harvester, topper and cleaner is provided, which is simple in construction and one wherein the operation of the various mechanisms is positive. It will also be seen that the device is so constructed thatA part of the power for driving the mechanism is obtained from the ground engaging wheels and part from an engine carried by the frame l, thereby reducing the number of horsesnecessary to drag the harvester.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and useful is l. A beet harvester comprising a wheel supported frame, a transversely disposed drive shaft carried by said frame, forwardly and downwardly extendingg plow carrying beams having their rear lends pivotally mounted on the drive shaft, forwardly and downwardly extending shafts having beet raising elements at the forward-ends thereof, said last named shafts having their rear ends rovided with gear` connections with the drive shaft, beet top grasping and holding conveyors disposed above the digging and raising elements, said conveyors having their rear ends supported by brackets pivotally mounted on the drive shaft, topping cutters carried by the conveyors adjacent their rear ends and means for operating said topping cutters and conveyors from ground engaging wheels.

2. Av beet harvester comprising a wheel supported fra-me, a transversely disposed drive shaft rotatably mounted in bearings of said frame, forwardly and downwardly extending plow beams having plows thereon and forwardly and downwardly extending rotatable beet raising members, said plow beams being pivotally mounted on the drive shaft at their rear ends, gear connections between the drive shaft and the rotatable beet raising members whereby said members will be rotated inwardly, upwardly and outwardly, conveyors disposed above the above mentioned mechanism and having their rear ends supported by brackets having bearings on the drive shaft, a shaft disposed above the rear ends of the conveyors, said shaft being provided with gears disposed above each conveyor, cutter mechanisms carried by the rear ends of the conveyors and driven from the shaft disposed above the conveyors through gear and sprocket mechanism and lever means adjacent the forward' end of the harvester for raising the plow members and the beet raising members.

3. A beet harvester comprising a wheel supported frame, a transversely disposed shaft rotatably mounted in bearings of said frame, plow beams having plows at their ends pivoted on said shaft, beet raising elements adjacent the forward ends of the plow beam and operated through gear connections vwith the shaft, conveyors upwardly and rearwardly extending and having their rear ends supported by brackets pivoted on the shaft, the forward ends of said conveyors being supported by the plow beams, means for raising the forward ends of the plow beams, whereby the conveyors will be tilted on their bearings on the supporting brackets and the beet raising elements simultaneously raised, topping mechanisms adjacent the rear ends of the conveyors, and mechanism operated by theground engaging wheels for operating the conveyors-and the topping mechanisms. 1

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE W. WELTON,.SR. Witnesses:

' MABEL J. JoHNsoN, FRANK;- IRVING. 

